Most modern kitchens include at least one appliance having a cook-top or horizontal surface that includes heating elements such as gas burners for the cooking of food. These gas burners are configured with grids or other means to support cooking utensils such as pots and pans containing food. These cook-tops may be installed within cabinetry or provided as part of a free-standing appliance. One or more ovens may be associated with the cook-top.
As consumers demand more features and/or more heating elements on the cook-top, the space available on the exterior surfaces and within the interior of the appliance has become more crowded with e.g., valves, pipes, wiring, electronic features, and other components of the appliance. Consumers typically prefer multiple heating elements on the cook-top and may want additional features such as a griddle or grill. Because the space available for the installation of the cook-top may be limited due to e.g., architectural standards or customary sizes, simply increasing the size of the cook-top in order to accommodate more features is typically not practical.
For example, with a cook-top having multiple gas fueled burners positioned on its horizontal surface, the valves, piping, and manifold for supplying and controlling gas to these burners consume a generous amount of space both within the appliance and along its exterior surfaces. More particularly, each burner is usually associated with at least one valve for both turning on the burner and controlling its heat output by regulating the amount of gas flow to the burner. Each valve requires a significant amount of space because the valve must include e.g., a passage for the flow of gas, features for constricting the size of such passage, a hub for mounting the valve and containing the gas, and still other features such as a valve stem and control knob for allowing the user to selectively adjust the amount of heat by controlling the size of the gas passage.
In addition, each valve much be connected to a supply of gas, such as a gas manifold. The manifold must be large enough to supply a sufficient amount of gas at the proper pressure to fuel all of the gas burners on the appliance. Typically, the manifold is located within the appliance and provides a reservoir where gas can accumulate for supply to each of the valves during operation. The manifold is commonly located adjacent to each of the valves as well and/or directly connected to the valves. As such, the manifold also consumes a significant amount of space within the appliance. When the manifold and valves are adjacent to one another, then the amount of spacing and depth required for the manifold and valves is further increased, which can also require a larger surface on the exterior of the appliance.
Accordingly, a device that allows for improvement in the space available in a gas cooking appliance would be useful. More particularly, a device that can provide for flexibility in the positioning of the gas control valves and/or gas manifold supplying such valves would be beneficial. A device that can also allow for separation between the valve and its control element (e.g., a knob) would be also very useful in improving the space available in a gas cooking appliance.